Pragyan Ojha's success at Motera proves left is might

November 22, 2012

Pragyan_Ojha

Mumbai, November 22: To earn the trust of your captain is perhaps the second-most important task for any spinner, other than his bowling. A good bowler who has his captain's backing is doubly potent, as Pragyan Ojha is now discovering.

The left-arm spinner, who rose nine places in the ICC bowling charts post the Ahmedabad Test to make it to the top-five, is becoming captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni's most effective weapon on Indian soil. With 84 wickets in 17 Tests, and 44 of them coming this year, Ojha has been a valuable contributor.

Stick to the basics, maintain a particular line and make the batsmen starve - that's the role Ojha was assigned when it was clear last season that he and teammate R Ashwin would go on to lead India's spin attack at home. Ashwin, on the other hand, was supposed to be the attacking one.

"That is where Ashwin got it wrong in Ahmedabad," says former left-arm spinner Maninder Singh. "He tried too much. All he had to do was make the batsmen drive. It was a slow pitch, driving was difficult. Not sticking to one particular line did not help," he says.

Ojha, on the other hand, was exactly the opposite. As he had told TOI in an interview before the start of the series, bowling a particular line and restricting the flow of runs would be his priority. The effort saw him pick a match-winning nine-wicket haul in the first Test.

"His biggest positive seems to be that he knows exactly what his limitations are and what he needs to do staying within those limitations," adds Maninder.

Lately, it's been a delightful time for left-arm spinners. While Bangladesh's Shakib-al Hasan played his first Test in a year, Sri Lankan Rangana Herath picked up 11 wickets against the visiting New Zealand team this week. Ojha's spree only adds to the glow that's returned to the beautiful art of bowling left-arm orthodox spin.

"He hadn't been given his due. He's easily India's main strike bowler when it comes to bowling spin today and I believe he was always capable of being there," says former India left-arm spinner and selector Venkatapathy Raju.

The 26-year-old Ojha returned with match figures 9-165 from 77.2 overs as India defeated England by nine wickets at Motera, taking a crucial 1-0 lead in the four-match series. Dhoni praised his bowlers for earning the team 20 wickets. On that count alone, Ojha delivered what his captain expected from him.

Ashwin is yet to unravel his 'mystery ball' and looked particularly ordinary against the left-handed Alastair Cook in the second innings, but Ojha kept the England captain in check when the latter came up with a fighting century. The bowler was aptly rewarded in the end, getting Cook bowled and allowing India to finish the match early next day.

"He has managed to show amazing control over the line he can maintain and that is something I've always believed he could deliver," says another left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi. England arrived in India thinking a lot about how to counter Ashwin. As they arrive in Mumbai, Ojha takes centre stage.

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News Network
February 11,2020

Mt. Maunganui (New Zealand), Feb 11: KL Rahul struck a combative 112 but New Zealand completed a 3-0 whitewash of India by winning the third ODI by five wickets, here on Tuesday.

Rahul helped India recover from a shaky start to post a challenging 296 for 7 but the Kiwis overhauled the target with 17 balls to spare.

This is the first whitewash that India has suffered in an ODI series in more than a decade.

Sent in to bat, India were down 62 for 3 in the 13th over after the dismissals of Mayank Agarwal (1), captain Virat Kohli (9) and Prithvi Shaw (40) but Rahul got a useful ally in in-form Shreyas Iyer (62) to take India to a competitive total.

Rahul, who hit nine fours and two sixes during his 113-ball innings, and Iyer stitched exactly 100 runs from 18.2 overs for the fourth wicket to revive the Indian innings.

After the end of the promising innings of Iyer, Rahul shared another 107 runs for the fifth wicket with Manish Pandey (42).

The Kiwis were off to a confident start in their chase with Martin Guptill (66) and Henry Nicholls (80) and putting on a 106-run stand. However, wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took three wickets to bring India back in the game.

Colin de Grandhomme (58) and Tom Latham (32), though, took their side past the finish line with an unbeaten 80-run partnership.

Brief Scores:

India: 296 for 7 in 50 overs (KL Rahul 112, Shreyas Iyer 62; Hamish Bennett 4/64).

New Zealand: 300 for 5 in 47.1 overs. (H Nicholls 80, M Guptill 66; Y Chahal 3/47).

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News Network
January 12,2020

Mumbai, Jan 12: India's pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will receive the prestigious Polly Umrigar Award for his exploits in international cricket in the 2018-19 season, the BCCI announced on Sunday.

The world's leading pacer will be honoured during the BCCI Annual Awards here on Sunday.

The world's No. 1 ODI bowler made his Test debut during India's tour of South Africa in January 2018 and has not looked back since. He picked up a five-wicket haul in South Africa, England, Australia and the West Indies becoming the first and only Asian bowler to achieve the feat.

He played a stellar role in the historic 2-1 Test series win in Australia, India's first Down Under and which helped them retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy. While Bumrah nets the biggest prize in the men's category, Poonam Yadav will claim the top prize in women's section and will be awarded the best international cricketer.

The award will be another feather in the leg-spinner's cap who recently received the Arjuna Award. Former India captains Krishnamachari Srikkanth and Anjum Chopra will be presented with the Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award and the BCCI Lifetime Achievement Award for women respectively.

A member of the 1983 World Cup-winning team, Srikkanth took on the fearsome West Indies fast bowlers and scored an attacking 38, the top individual score in the low-scoring final at the Lord's. He also captained India and post-retirement served as the chief selector and it was during his tenure that the 2011 World Cup squad was picked.

Anjum is one of the finest batswomen and the first Indian to play 100 ODIs. In a career spanning 17 years, Anjum represented India in four 50-over World Cups and two T20 World Cup (played in one).

BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said, "The BCCI Awards is our way of recognising the finest on-field performances right from the age group to senior level and also honour our legends.

"It will be a special evening in Mumbai as we will also have the 7th MAK Pataudi lecture and I am delighted to inform that it will be Virender Sehwag, who will address the gathering."

Board secretary Jay Shah said, "The BCCI Awards are an important feature in India's cricketing calendar, a melange of aspiration and inspiration. "We wanted to make Naman bigger and better and have introduced four new categories – highest run-getter and wicket-takers in WODIs and best international debut men and women – from this year. A total of 25 awards will be presented."

Arun Singh Dhumal, the board's treasurer, said, "Right from domestic to international level, Indian Cricket has had a memorable 2018-19 season. We have started the year on the right note with Team India completing a convincing series win against Sri Lanka and they will be in attendance. The U-19 team is in South Africa for the World Cup and all eyes will be on the stars of tomorrow. It will be a special evening and I congratulate the award winners".

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News Network
March 29,2020

Sydney, Mar 29: Steve Smith's two-year leadership ban ended quietly Sunday, leaving him eligible again to captain Australia at a time of uncertainty over when international cricket will resume.

Smith was stripped of the captaincy and banned from leading Australia for two years over his involvement in the 2018 ball tampering scandal in South Africa. His sentence ended Sunday and he can again captain Australia if called upon.

Australian players were due this week to conclude a series of matches in New Zealand and, for some, to join the Indian Premier League. But it wasn't clear Sunday if the IPL will take place this year and when international matches will resume. Australia's scheduled mid-year tours to England and Bangladesh are in doubt.

Smith told Channel Nine television's Sports Sunday he is doing his best to stay mentally and physically fit, training in his home gym, going on 10 kilometer (6 mile) runs and practising the guitar.

"It's obviously not looking likely (the IPL will go ahead) at the moment," Smith said. "I think there might be some meetings over the next few days to discuss what the go is with it all.

"I'm just trying to stay physically and mentally fit and fresh and, if it goes ahead at some point, then great. And if not, there's plenty going on in the world at the moment. So just play it day by day."

It seems unlikely Smith will return to the captaincy when cricket resumes. Tim Paine is firmly established as Australia's test captain and at 35 is not immediately considering retirement. Aaron Finch has captained Australia successfully in white ball cricket.

The conclusion of Smith's ban ends the period of upheaval in Australian cricket that followed the ball tampering incident in the second test at Cape Town in 2018 when Cameron Bancroft, with the knowledge of Smith and his vice-captain David Warner, used sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.

Smith and Warner received one-year bans from international and most domestic cricket and Bancroft was banned for nine months. The scandal also resulted in the resignation of coach Darren Lehmann and the departure of Cricket Australia's chief executive, James Sutherland.

Warner remains under a career-long leadership ban.

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